London head 'brands GCSES boring'

A headteacher of a north London school has said a curriculum too focused on exams is holding back brighter students, it has been reported.

According to the Telegraph, Oliver Blond of the Henrietta Barnet School and his teaching staff have to organise extra activities outside GCSE lessons to help ensure pupils remain enthusiastic about learning.

Mr Blond told the paper: "It is important to give pupils an education based not only on the syllabus but on their interests and passions."

Offering extra support in music sport and the arts can be a "difficult balancing act" but children need to do activities outside the curriculum, he added.

He said helping students build a more "mature perspective" on life should be valued just as much as passing exams.

His comments follow news GCSE students have achieved more A* to C grades than ever before.